The CPA Small Branches network comprises of Commonwealth jurisdictions with populations under 1,000,000 and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. It is governed by an elected Chairperson and a Steering Committee of representatives from each of the CPA Regions within the CPA Small Branches network. Staff from the CPA Headquarters Secretariat support the network by coordinating activities alongside its members.

CPA Small Branches Steering Committee

The CPA Small Branches Steering Committee comprises of the CPA Small Branches Chairperson and seven Members who represent the seven Regions of the CPA that include Small Branches; Africa, Australia, British Isles and the Mediterranean, Canada, Caribbean, Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and South-East Asia.

The formation of the CPA Small Branches Steering Committee was approved and recommended by the CPA Executive Committee at its Mid-Year Meeting in Mauritius in 2018.

The current list of Regional Representatives on the CPA Small Branches Steering Committee are as follows:

• CPA Africa Region: Hon. Churchill Gill MNA (Seychelles)
• CPA Australia Region: Hon. Mark Monaghan MLA (Northern Territory)
• CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region: Hon. Juan Watterson SHK (Isle of Man)
• CPA Canada Region: TBC
• CPA Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region: Hon. Barbara Webster-Bourne (Anguilla)
• CPA Pacific Region: TBC
• CPA South East Asia Region: Hon. Hamizan bin Hassan (Perlis)

CPA Small Branches Chairperson

The position of CPA Small Branches Chairperson was approved at the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon in 2014 and the first elected Chairperson began in 2016. The CPA Small Branches Chairperson is elected at the CPA Small Branches Conference for a term of three years. 

Joy Burch MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory

Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches network (2022-2025)

Biography

Joy Burch was elected as CPA Small Branches Chairperson in August 2022 at the 38th CPA Small Branches Conference. Previously she assumed the role of Acting CPA Small Branches Chairperson in February 2021 upon the resignation of the previous CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Hon. Niki Rattle (Cook Islands). She was at the time the Vice-Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches Steering Committee and so assumed the role of Acting CPA Small Branches Chairperson until the next CPA Small Branches Conference.

As CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Joy Burch MLA also becomes a member of the CPA Executive Committee and the CPA Coordinating Committee. 

Joy Burch was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2008 and has served on a number of Committees including Administration and Procedure; Health, Ageing, Community and Social Services; and Justice and Community; and has held several Ministerial positions. She served as Deputy Speaker becoming Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory in October 2016.

Under CPA election rules only delegates from CPA Small Branches to the next Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference can take part in the vote to elect a new Chairperson. The next election will take place at the 38th CPA Small Branches Conference in Halifax, Canada in August 2022.  

Previous CPA Small Branches Chairpersons:

• 2019-2021: Hon. Niki Rattle, Speaker of the Parliament of the Cook Islands 
• 2016-2019: Hon. Angelo Farrugia, MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Malta

Africa Region

Seychelles

Asia Region

Maldives

Australia Region

Australian Capital Territory
Northern Territory
Tasmania

British Islands and Mediterranean Region

Alderney
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Jersey
Malta
St Helena

Canada Region

New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Prince Edward Island
Yukon

Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region

Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Montserrat
Nevis
Saint Lucia
St Kitts and Nevis
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Turks and Caicos Islands

India Region

Sikkim

Pacific Region

Bougainville
Cook Islands
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
Niue
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

South-East Asia Region

Melaka
Perlis